I can't say I want Final Fantasy XI-2. Not saying I wouldn't play it if it were to ever be released because I definitely would! However it's the design they're changing and that really irritates me. It no longer feels like a console Final Fantasy. It feels like a western MMO with Final Fantasy plastered on it. It's such a shame because there were very few designed the way XI and XIV were and now we're on the overused design path of the western MMO.

Can't wait for the day a developer breaks from the mold and designs a new experience.

I think the difficulty is appropriate for its level. I feel lv25-lv30 should be the stage where new players should be getting more used to group content.

Sure it might be cake walk for legacy players, but I'm sure Square Enix have stuff prepared for legacy people too.

I disagree. Lvl 25-30 is far along the level progression path (Brayflox is higher then 30). At that point they should already be used to group content. It should be at the later phases of understanding dynamic content and being able to adapt to situations. ARR doesn't promote this. Brayflox is Sastasha with a different coat of paint. A Dragon instead of a Sahigan. There is too much hand holding. Before level 25 you have 4 raids and a story boss fight, not to mention Guildhests or even FATEs. How long does one need to understand what grouping up is?

This has nothing to do with Legacy players, casual players, experienced, or inexperienced. I wasn't handed a road map in my first MMO, and I would like to believe you weren't as well. We had to define our own journeys, learn, overcome and teach ourselves how to be better players. Yoshida is making us run on a damn hamster wheel with some cheese in front of our faces. It completely kills the experience when the gameplay is borderline mind numbing. I'm hearing the same thing from friends of experience and no experience. This isn't detrimental to everyone...but for some it's a big issue.

When I tested those dungeons, I had all jobs/class, unlocked action abilities, and equipments. In my opinion I think the perspective from a brand new player would give a more accurate input than both of us in this matter.

I agree. This was probably my most anticipated game for quite a while and it is just so disappointing that it's just another WoW clone. Endless, repetitive, stupid quests that serve no purpose with combat that is so fast that nothing you do really matters. I haven't been in a party yet because there is really no reason to do so. I miss XI where I HAD to get a party starting at level 10.

God I remember the days of walking from San d'Oria all around the world only to get 1 shot by some random enemy.

It made me a pro at dodging things.

Good times.

The first set of quest in the game is to help you through your first class. Until you have to level your second, third, fourth etc classes, you going to need to party to be more efficient at leveling quickly.

I agree with most of what you said in the OP... but I still love the game. The world is just.. fun to be in. I enjoy the music, I enjoy exploring the world, I enjoy the dynamic FATEs... etc.

Also, I took about 10-15 minutes reading this thread while the FFXIV beta was running in the background. I'm right outside Ul'dah. Ever since I read your argument about music, I've been keeping close tabs on my FFXIV music. It hasn't stopped once in the last 10 minutes. Maybe SE changed it?

Me and my sis are having fun playing on the beta but it does feels too easy and the quest aren't very imaginative. We'll see how it goes.

It's not like that in cities. Run out to an area like Black Brush station and stand there for a few minutes. It will turn into ambiance. Also don't get me wrong, this thread was not designed to spew negative hate on the game. The main point is to get people to play Open Beta and decide for themselves.